Actual Life
by Fliora
Summary: One day a gem woke up. This is what happened.
1. Prologue

Prologue: Glimmering Mirrors

A faint ringing in my ears slowly pulled my eyes open for the first time. My body, suddenly feeling the coldness of the dark blue floor below me, awoke in shock.

My eyes were wide open as my hands quickly brought me to my feet. I looked around frantically for something familiar, or something that I knew. It was my brain that knew nothing of what was around me, and it was my heart that started to be distressed.

I looked at my hands. They appeared to be normal, as were my clothes: jeans that rode around my legs tightly-a single shooting star wrapping around from up the ankle to the thigh-, a shirt with a symbol that meant nothing to me, and a warm leather jacket with the inside being a super soft fur. The fur coming out in a trim around the decorative buttons which seamlessly folded over to the hood part of the jacket. My hand slowly felt down the fur, and my cold cheek felt its softness. Soft beads slowly bent around my other cheek as my eyes looked up to examine what was around me.

My eyebrows furrowed, "There's gotta be something here for me to go off of..."

Looking around I could see these crystal platforms scattered around the room. They naturally jut up from the ground; with little steps around them for easy access. The crystal looked strangely glossy, however, as the outside of the room was dark and blue with what appeared to be water. I looked upwards following the horizon, and finding that the sky was an azure blue with darkened clouds. The cosmos was glaring back down to the ground to which I stood.

A sharp pain pulled through my right arm causing me to grip it out of instinct. I could feel this hard rock affixed to my arm, although it didn't appear unnatural to me. The rock felt as though it was supposed to be there. I pulled my jacket off, noting how soft it felt on the inside in contrast to the smooth outer texture, and made a closer inspection of the rock on my arm.

"What...?" Taking a short breath, my hand went over the smooth angled surface of the rock. Well, it was more of a gem the more I looked at it. It was a heptagon in shape, the deep blue of the gem was striking and glossy. It was located on my wrist, but it was embedded into my skin. It didn't hurt more so that my body suddenly became aware that it existed. "It's... blue..." Checking my other arm, there was indeed a second gem but it was a greenish blue color instead. It appeared to be a hexagon in shape with the center as an angled raised pentagon. The gems themselves appeared to be cut to perfection, and incredibly beautiful and clean. "What are the gems for though...?" I spoke to myself with no answer to reciprocate.

It was at this moment I was faced with a very pressing question, "What is my name?" I closed my eyes, and held my jacket close to me to think. A hall of blank paintings and empty shelves were what was returned to me in my thoughts. There was nothing to hide, and nothing to remember. The walls were white and bland, and the rooms were vast and cold. Not a name to be found. I took a deep breath, "I need to just stay calm. Surely I'll find my answers soon."

"...hm." I slowly sat down with my thoughts to eventually guide me to a compromise. I continued to keep my eyes closed; holding my jacket close to me.

The sound of the room was filled with just the light rush of clean mysterious air. I could feel its fingers brush through my boyish hair like a long lost friend trying to reach out for me.

"I'm alone... Obviously." I opened my eyes and looked around again in vain. "... I wonder if there's a way out." I slowly got up but not before putting my jacket back on after feeling a chill go passed my arms.

I took a look around, moving around the crystal platforms, I investigated the edges of the room. A wall of wind, it seemed, rushed up from beyond the room, and prevented me from proceeding any further. Not that I would want to as it seemed to be a steep drop into black unknown. My face was engulfed in an inquisitive expression as I searched the rest of the room.

Quickly I went around each crevice, examined each rounded spire, and looked over each mirror like platform. The center of the room had a larger platform that commanded attention, albeit was gravely cracked and broken beyond repair it seemed. My hand felt down the cold, albeit new and smooth, rock that seemed to form stairs to the platform in the center of the room.

I climbed up to the center platform, noting the decorative rocks around the platform, to continue to investigate. "These glass platforms... There's something strange about them." I knelt down and lightly placed my hand on it so my fingers touched the smooth glass. The other side of it was cracked beyond repair it seemed. "Hmmm... Are they all broken?" I took a sweeping glance all the way around the room. Being this high, I could see pretty much everything there was in the room.

It was then I noticed a glass platform that was untouched. The only one in the room, it was completely solid, and upon closer inspection was fairly used. A variety of faint foot scuffs were on the glass like surface. The markings were varying in sizes with 4 in total.

"Someone was here recently, I could guess but... how? There's no way out of this room." I narrowed my eyes and decided to place my feet in one of the marked spots. I clenched my fists, "Is it a teleporter?" I pulled back the sleeves on my jacket and looked at my gems, "Do these work on it?" Closing my eyes again I concentrated on activating the platform, but nothing happened.

I stepped off the platform, and knelt down to take a closer look. My hand felt over the smooth surface to see if there was some kind of secret to it. "A hand print maybe? Is it activated by a foot print signature...? I didn't see any feet on the other ones...then again those are broken. ...Why am I still talking to myself? Heh."

Just as I was about to give up a sudden flash of light blinded my eyes and caused me to fall backwards.

The platform was the source of the light which quickly faded out of existence almost as quickly as it appeared. When the light faded it left behind someone.

I looked up to see two tall bodies standing on the platform. A rather tall woman with dark clothing that seemed to meld with her black cubed afro. Her body verbatim was incredibly curved, and more specifically her torso and legs. It was as if she was made of small ovals and cylinders. She seemed to give a sense of authority and power with a decisive nature.

The other body also appeared to be female; her hair slicked back but was incredibly clean despite it. Her body was slender and almost stick like as were her clothes of a small skirt and blue tang-top combo. The graceful nature she exuded was not lost on me.

They looked around for a moment without noticing me. The darker one spoke, "There was a disturbance here I detected this morning." Her voice was commanding but chilled. She kept hidden what her emotions were, but her motives and reasoning were incredibly clear by how she spoke.

The other one replied, "But you broke the main home warp, so it would be impossible for anyone to have gone through... Oh, I really hope it hasn't begun again." A sense of worry in her voice as she over thought the situation.

"Stay calm." She walked over to the larger raised platform in the middle. "It was just a disturbance, it could be anything."

Startled and terrified to say anything I kept still. I clenched my teeth tightly and took small breaths. I could feel my body shake with fear and bewilderment.

_What if they know who I am? ...Is that really important right now though? What if they try to destroy me...!_

Suddenly, the slender female took notice to me as she looked over the platform nearest to the working one. "Wah-! O-oh..."

The powerful one quickly turned towards us, and thus noticed me. "... Who are you?" She commanded.

"I'm... um..." I slowly got up, and looked over at the slender female who looked at me warily. I suddenly noticed she had a white rock on her forehead. It reminded me of the ones on my arm. "... I'm not sure who I am." I replied. The larger of the two became defensive and slowly raised her fists.

"What...?" She looked at the taller one as if to ask what was up. She shrugged, and the slender one's wariness turned to pity as she stepped forward. "Are you feeling ok? What happened?"

"I woke up in this room, whatever it is. Nobody else was here. And..." I pulled up my sleeves. "There's these weird rocks on my wrists. Kinda like what's on your forehead, whoever you are." Slowly I started to calm down, now having been able to talk out my feelings to someone else. Albeit, someone I don't know yet. Having heard my testimony, the larger one seemed to be sufficiently satisfied.

The slender one started to think to her self for a moment as the powerful one walked over, her glasses completely obscuring her eyes with a pinkish mirror surface, and took a look at my rocks. She grabbed my hand with an unexpected tenderness. "...Mm." She looked back at her friend. "He's a Gem."

"Well, of course, but where in the world did he come from!? All the warp pads are broken! It's not like he just... fell... ...from...space..." She looked up at the sky and suddenly came up with an idea. "Space! He came from space mid-warp!"

The powerful one put her hand to her face in thought, "It's... Possible, but not probable. The Warps are linked via a proxy dimension."

"Remember the fight at the Inter-Stellar Warp? All the Gems that tried to warp away had to recede back into their gemstones because the warp broke..." She started to think more about it. "...But but...!"

Garnet thought to herself, as if contemplating something huge, and groaned in thought. "... I think we should help him."

"Garnet?" The female put her hand onto the rounded shoulder.

"... There's a lot of possible outcomes that... could lead to something big. But... I can't see what for sure yet."

"You said that with Amethyst, remember?"

She nodded, not saying anything. She crossed her arms in agreement with herself for whatever reason. "Yes, I do." Her face was stoic as she turned towards me, "We'll help you."

I sighed in relief, "Thank you. I don't know... what you really mean, but if it helps me find out who I am, I'm sure I can repay your kindness somehow." I nodded.

I smiled weakly being unsure of my future and of my own health. Trusting these two people was my only option, it seemed.

"Introductions are in order!" The slender female chirped in. She smiled softly, "I'm Pearl, and this is Garnet. Back at the temple there's two more Gems I'm sure you'll get along with just fine." She seemed more excited that there was another Gem than actually helping me.

Garnet looked at me for a moment before cutting in, "Just one thing. A name." She gestured at me.

"My name? ..." I looked down dejected, and unable to remember a name. Pulling my jacket closer to me I couldn't help but notice there being a slightly opened pocket. My curiosity got the better of me, and I slipped my hand into the zippered pouch. There was a piece of paper, to which I quickly revealed to myself. "...What the heck?" I pulled it out so they could read it.

It was just a bunch of blocked text-language I couldn't decipher, and a name at the bottom corner of the paper. It read, "Azurite."

"Azurite." I spoke aloud.

"That settles it. Your name is Azurite." She helped me onto the platform giving me a decisive nod.

Pearl interjected, "Just hold still for one moment as we warp back to the temple."

I gave her a strange expression, but only to be replied with a confident smile and closing eyes. Pearl seemed to focus for a moment before the platform started to activate. My body jumped a little bit as a beam of light engulfed us.

The light brought us up high, and obscured our vision of the world around us in a seemingly endless tube of bluish light. It was as if all weight had been lifted off my body. I marveled at the beautiful crystal like blue the light gave off as we continued. Pearl and Garnet, standing still and looked as if this was completely normal, kept their arms down and their feet firmly together as if preparing for something.

Its glorious shimmering splendor quickly dissipated as it dropped us in a new location. Pearl and Garnet landed on their feet almost effortlessly while I was unprepared for the sudden gravity. All my limbs seemed to drop to the floor, and I was forced to kneel down quickly to catch myself. Slowly, I got back up to observe my new surroundings.

A similar flooring from the previous area stops right after the crystal platform which quickly led into a wooden flooring. The walls made of glossy rock and stone also cut off right at where the wood begins. Following the wood is what seemed to be a kitchen: complete with a fridge, stools, counter and cabinets which follow the wall to a screen door. It was all well kept but also highly trafficked; as if it was cleaned in vain most of the time.

The left side of the wooden area seemed to lead into what seemed like a bedroom as a small staircase led up to a bed with a small television set at the end of it. Toys strewn around that particular area, and video games by the television made it seem as though this child had just been there. A partial wall painted expertly with red slightly divided this side of the room with the edge of the platform area. It was strange to really look around the area as it was juxtaposed with a mature and mysterious area.

I started to walk through the room to get a better look, "Um... where are we exactly? I understand this is a child's room but..." I looked back at Pearl and Garnet. "This is...strange." I took off my jacket to put it down somewhere as a warm summer like breeze went into the room.

"This is our friend Steven's room." Pearl explained. "Steven is...special. He's a crystal gem like us, and a short but definitely capable young man for our team."

"I'll try to keep the questions to a minimum for now, but...um, what is a Gem?"

She looked at me with a grave expression then returned it to Garnet. Garnet, having been silent this whole time, gestured for us to sit at the counter in the kitchen. Pearl replied, "You...really don't remember anything...do you...?"

"It's strange... I understand simple concepts like... This room is like a part of a house, but... Those platforms that transported us I have no recollection of. I don't even remember where I came from." I looked down at my gemstones as my arms pulled closer together on the counter. My elbows supporting my upper body, I sighed. "I don't know... Maybe it's these gemstone things?"

Garnet went over to the screen door, "I'm going to get Steven and Amethyst." Without another word she was off.

Pearl took my wrist and examined my gemstones. "You have two, which is fairly uncommon..." She released me once more. "If you want, I could give you a crash course on Gems. You _are_ a Gem, so knowing the basics is a great building block, and maybe it might jog your memory."

She stood up and gestured out into the air. Her gem acted accordingly, and produced what looked like a floating image made of blue light from her gemstone. Her eyes closed, and her mouth started to speak to me about what Gems are and what all Gems are capable of: Summoning a Weapon, Shape-shifting, Fusion, Regeneration...

End of Prologue.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Crystal Gems

Her lecture left me very informed about what Gems are, albeit a bit more detail than I probably needed, I understood just what she was trying to tell me. I nodded to myself as I thought about what I could do with this knowledge.

"So... Pearl. I can summon a weapon?" Extending the question I looked down at my gems, "...Why would I need one?"

She lightly placed her hand on my shoulder and gave me a sincere expression, "It's a long story... but I'm telling you right now that you will need to defend yourself when the time comes. I feel it's only a matter of time before-"

The screen door slammed open, and a young woman burst in. Her long white hair flew back as she skid into the kitchen. Her clothes were a purple tang top that seemed just ever so slightly too large for her, and a black spaghetti strap undershirt. A purple gem on her upper chest was revealed to me by the gap her shirt made. She pushed her hair away from her left eye as she took a few deep breaths; she seemed as though she had something urgent to say. Her white boots and black fitting pants didn't make her seem any more mature.

"Oh Amethyst! This is Azurite and he's-" Pearl was cut off.

The young woman spoke with a somewhat brazen voice, "It's Steven! Some giant rock monster came out of the ground and... Daaah!" Her fingers gripped into her hair.

"W-What!?" Pearl yelled, and her hand instinctively went to her open mouth as Amethyst quickly fell suit outside. A loud yell was heard followed by a thud.

"We should go help too! Right?" I said hastily moving towards the screen door.

Pearl grabbed my arm, "N-No! It's to dangerous! Besides... Me, Amethyst and Garnet have definitely got this under control."

A loud bang was heard from outside followed by a young male's scream. We both jumped in our shoes before instinctively going to investigate the situation outside.

The screen door squeaked open as we both went onto the wooden balcony. A long and somewhat wide beach stretched before us which was the bridge between the small town to the right and the deep ocean to the left. Looking up around the house I could see that it was located on a huge carved out cliff. The lines of the carvings made what looked like a beautiful woman with four arms. Albeit worn down from time the sentiment was still in tact.

Looking back at the beach I could see the town curves back from another small cliff before wrapping around to a beautiful pier. The scenery was interrupted, however, by a huge monstrous being.

Right as I noticed the monster, it roared and consequently caused me to lose my footing. My hands and arms breaking my fall.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?" I yelled as Pearl leaped from the balcony onto the soft sand. "Pearl?" I slowly got back up and watched over the balcony as the Gem ran towards the monster; pulling out what looked like a blue lance from her forehead. "...W-What?"

"Garnet, Amethyst!" She yelled as the two other Gems quickly came out from behind large rocks on the beach.

I watched as the two other Gems summoned their weapons in a warm glow. Quickly Amethyst pulled out what looked like an equally purple speckled whip which matched her Gem, and Garnet punched her fists together causing what appeared to be gauntlets on her fists.

In awe I watched them get into formation, and subsequently attacked the large blue monster. Garnet quickly leaped into the air as Amethyst wrapped her whip around the monster's leg-pulling it down- and Pearl firing little bullets of light at the monster's sides. Finally, Garnet came down with a super fast and decisive punch onto the monster's mid-section. The monster appeared as though it were hurt, but somehow managed to recover quickly from the blow.

Something strange happened with the monster as it seemed to ooze black sludge. Small tendrils and arms started to form around its sides. It began to transform. The black sludge completely covered it's body, and the arms quickly threw away Garnet in a whipping action as if she were a ball. Her body tossed deep into the sand with a loud thud.

As the monster continued to recover strangely, its mouth opened to ooze out more black sludge and let out a loud roar. The sound vibrated thoroughly through the wooden platform and my feet were carried and thrown off balance causing me to tumble backwards.

I could feel the wood starting to give way, the creaks and cracks made audible noises, and I found myself quickly falling to the sandy earthly ground. The wood around me in pieces now with sharp planks and miscellaneous objects midst all the wreckage.

My now sandy hands slowly brought myself back up, and quickly finding myself in the active zone.

_Well, I'm here now. Either run or...help? What can I do...? _I fervishly thought to myself; sweat falling down my cheek. _What did Pearl say? … 'I'll have to defend myself...'_ Her words echoed in my mind.

The monster smashed the ground again, and the Gems were knocked over once more. It was as if the monster had foresight and knew where their attacks were coming from.

"Garnet, Amathyst...!" Pearl called out, but was returned with no response. The black goo of the monster started to create spires in the ground that sprang up as the Gems attempted to get closer. I watched as Garnet attempted to punch through the monster's spires but it appeared to have no effect. With her gauntlets getting stuck in the goo, she became unable to move.

I looked down at my wrists, and imagined what I could use to fight. Nothing happened of course, but I couldn't start fighting without a weapon, could I?

The Gem that was called Amethyst looked over at me from across the beach, fighting back the oozing goo with her whip, yelled out, "Get out of here man!"

I shook my head, and started to run towards the main monster. I could feel the ground shift under me, and as if I knew it was about to happen, I jumped out of the way to dodge the protruding oozing tentacles. Suddenly, I felt this energy around my arms before suddenly a pair of metallic blue swords appeared for me. Naturally, I took hold of them as they became completely solid. The blades seemed to give me the strength to cut through anything. My elbow pulled down on an obstructing oozing blob, and the blade followed through with a satisfying slice, and cut it in two. I kept running; with the wind whistling by, and the Gems slowly recovering to get back in action, I regrouped with them near the monster.

It let out a loud roar once more, but we stood our ground. The Gems looked at me, and nodded confidently before looking back at our foe.

I held up my arms up in front of my chest, and crossed them in defense-the blades pointing away to block any attack. Pearl took her lance and moved into a more offensive stance. I watched as Garnet and Amethyst followed suit. An arrogant smirk on my face I nodded. My body felt warm when I was around them in this way. I felt like I could take on anything.

Garnet's voice commanded us, "Everyone, move!"

All of our legs carried us in different directions as we all narrowly escaped the monster's underhanded attack from below us. Garnet, from the left side, flanked the gigantic monster and smashed the ground to create a disorientating shockwave. Meanwhile, Amethyst, from the right side, whipped the monster and purposefully got her whip stuck. She appeared to grip it hard before sending what seemed like a purple pulse of electrical energy into the monster itself. Pearl on the other hand moved swiftly to the back side of the monster, and appeared to charge her lance. The lance glowed beautifully before she forcefully stabbed it into the ooze. It exploded on impact.

It wasn't enough, not yet. The monster was damaged, but there was nothing else the gems could do. My arms slammed and sliced into the monster, and through its moving tentacled arms, but it wouldn't go down.

A final slice into it's body proper, and I found myself getting stuck in the ooze. My hands felt the ugly gross feeling surround them. I could feel my fingers slide around, but my arms were kept in with a powerful suction. It was only a matter of time before my whole body was sucked into the powerful ooze. I struggled, pulled, and try to fight my way out, but it was all in vain. The last thing I could hear was Garnet calling my name as my body disappeared from her view.

…

It was darkness for miles. There was nothing for me to see, nothing for me do. The light had been sucked away just like my body. My mouth tightly closed I tried to make more room for myself. There had to be a way out of this.

_What...? It's like... a hard liquid._

My body slowly crawled through the darkness. My eyes scanned for any visible light, but what was there was swallowed up by the dark. Just an endless abyss it seemed before I heard a voice.

It was a child's voice. A voice calling out for anyone to hear him. His voice sounded scared and confused, but determined to find someone in this darkness.

"Is anyone there?!" I yelled out, crawling through the thick darkness. "I could hear you!"

The child spoke once more, "Yeah! Whoever you are, come closer!" He seemed really excited to hear someone.

As I got closer to the voice, I noticed a small pink glow that illuminated a small area. Almost like a lantern of sorts it seemed there was a small shield over a young man. Barely making out what the boy looked like, I smiled warmly as I was able to move more the closer I got. His shield seemed to push away the darkness to make a small room of sorts.

I knelt down next to the boy to make more room and to have us at an average eye level-even though I was still a bit taller than he. "Hello, uh... ...Are you Steven?" I gave him a small smile.

"That's m'name, don't wear it out!" His innocent eyes looked up at me with a cheerful smile, "But uh... How do you know my name?"

I chuckled, "...Garnet told me. Heheh. My name is Azurite. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Steven put out his hand with a warm smile. Naturally, I took his hand and returned the gesture. Albeit a bit awkward for a moment, as our hands just hung in the air untouching.

"Uhh... You're supposed to shake hands with me." The boy took my hand of his own will and shook it up and down decisively. "See? ...Agh, your hands are cold!" He immediately let go of my apparently cold hands.

I looked at him inquisitively before examining them myself. My hands seemed to exude this white cold off of them. Like ice creating a fog in spring, my hands seemed to create a small cloud of cold. Slowly I touched my own face, and found them to be not quite so cold as they appeared.

"Is this another Gem thing?" I looked at my right gem in the dim pinkish light. It didn't seem out of the ordinary. "Steven?"

Steven's eyes twinkled with delight, "You're a Gem!?" He took my arm and closely examined the rock embedded into my flesh. He let out an excited sigh. "Ahhh! Another Gem friend! ...haha! Gem Friends!" His enthusiasm was not fallen on deaf ears.

_He's different from the other Gems. He feels... like innocent love. But something else too..._

I was a bit disoriented by this sudden change in atmosphere. One minute I feel like I'm all alone, and the next I feel as though I'm with a friend I've known forever.

"So...Uh, Steven, do you have any ideas on how we're going to get out of here?" I looked around, but it was still just darkness to greet me like an old friend.

He looked around, but didn't seem to come up with anything. "I've been trying for about an hour now since that big monster sucked me up." He sat on the goopy floor. "...It's a gem monster, but I wish I never found that rock..."

"Gem monster?"

"Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst told me that Gem monsters are monsters that are these like...corrupted Gems that are beyond help or something. I gueeess that means if your Gem gets damaged enough or something else, then you become something like this big guy."

I clenched my teeth for a moment before slowly recovering from the shock. "O-Oh. That's...something. Heh." I thought for a moment, and tried to find a solution for our problem.

"They usually have Gems...but I didn't see where it went when it went kabloom." His hands quickly raised up to accent what he was saying.

"It has a Gem? Hmm..." I continued to think about what we could do. I felt around the sticky walls of the enclosed space we were in and pushed through to see if there was anything else. There didn't appear to be anything in sight, however. "Do you think that we could find the Gem and do something to it to let us out?"

Steven thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion, "Uh-huh. I was thinking that too, but then I realized I couldn't breathe when I tried climbing through that stuff." His frankness pierced me.

"Ehh... Breathing..." I looked at him, then at the wall. "How about I go look? I bet it's just up a ways."

Steven looked at me as if he came up with the best idea of his life. "I know! I'll make a shield for us, and float us up!" He smiled, and pulled me closer to him before dissipating the shield he had above him, and creating what seemed like a pink bubble around us. "Hahaaaaaa!" He put his arms up in triumph.

The bubble didn't move for the moment as the walls closed around it. The thick goo unable to pierce the bubble shielding us pushed up on it. Slowly but surely it pushed us upward like an elevator.

I smiled at Steven; happy that he was able to come up with something so simple but practical. "I...probably should have came up with this sooner, but, well, 'if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs.' Huhahaha!" He chuckled at what appeared to be an inside joke. I could only look in delight as the bubble hit what looked like a rock.

"Is that the Gem, Steven?" My hand pointed at the rock.

He nodded decisively, and looked at me. "Ok... Now what?"

"H-Huh?"

"I can't get the Gem with all of this goopy stuff crushing me... I need your help this time." He looked at me with a serious expression. "Please."

I took his hand, and nodded. "Mm. Yes, I understand."

Nervously, I watched as Steven lowered his shield. The goo around us like a sink drain came in and covered our bodies. It seemed almost crushing, but I could still move around a little bit. My hand still holding Steven's in a trusting bond, I slowly pushed my way upwards. The goo around us was really heavy, but my spirit would not fade away.

My left hand felt around the hard stone above us, and I forcefully pulled our bodies around it. Through the thick ooze we found our way around the Gem of the monster. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel Steven's hand slipping away from mine. I clenched my teeth at the thought of his life being expelled from existence.

Having just met this young man I felt almost conflicted why I felt so responsible for him. At the same time however, he's given me such kindness and sincerity. It was so genuine, so warm that it stuck to my heart like glue.

The rock was squeezed under my hands as I attempted to destroy it. The rock's density proved to much for me however. My hands started to sting, and I grunted in frustration.

"No! Please! Just...Stop!"

Something wet fell down my face as my hands gripped the rock tightly. A tightness was knotted in my chest as I clung to the floating rock. I closed my eyes as my hands felt as though they were burning into the rock. No pain was felt, but the feeling was undeniable.

Suddenly, I heard this loud crackling noise. Like stone cracking and shifting against each other at a quick rate. Slowly I opened my eyes to find a glassy dome had surrounded me and Steven. It's blue crystalline coloration shimmered in a faint sunlight; the rock I was holding, now turned to a duller version of the walls, seemed to be the cause of it all.

I looked down at Steven, whom was recovering from the lack of air, and smiled in relief, "Steven, you're ok!" Albeit noticing that I was floating in the air, "Uhh... How do I get down?"

Checking my immediate surroundings it was as if the monster was frozen, but it didn't seem cold. However, upon attempting to check my hands my body suddenly felt gravity. I heard Steven yell for my safety but it was too late. As if someone was pulling me down, I fell to the same level as Steven. The air quickly rushed passed my face before my backside finally hit the floor clean. A sharp pain went up my back, but it didn't seem fatal.

Steven quickly ran to my side, "Oh no! Are you alright?!" I winced looking back up at his worried expression.

"I think so..." I slowly pulled myself back up to hear a cracking noise. "...uh."

I looked behind me to see the damage I had caused. The glass like floor had cracked and split, and seemed to creep all around us. The crack followed all the way up the ill fated walls until it reached the top. Altogether, it split open and the sunlight blinded us both. Again, I felt the rushing of wind again, but this time someone was there to catch me.

In a swift movement, it was Garnet and Pearl who jumped into action to save us from the crashing ice and stone. The light blinded my eyes and only revealed a silhouette of Pearl for me.

Pearl and Garnet landed softly, and set us down accordingly. Pearl was the first to speak, "Steven, are you alright?" She was stern in a way that seemed as though she thought that he would not have been given the circumstances.

"I'm fine." He smiled at me, "Thanks to this guy over here!" Running over to me he chuckled, and finished with a friendly pat on my arm.

I blinked at the pat, and chuckled nervously. "Oh, it was nothing. Haha... I _totally_ knew what I was doing. And it's Azurite." Giving him a small nervous smile I pat his head.

"So where are you from, Asher?" He looked up at me with innocent eyes. I clenched my teeth and looked back at Garnet.

She shrugged.

_Where am I from? It's anyone's guess right now, but... does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? I'm...me. Right? Yeah. Knowing about my past would be nice, but it's not something I want. I want... to live. I want to see what's ahead of me._ I could feel something inside of me change. Like the blessing of life, the sun beamed down a glorious light upon my face. I felt warm. It felt kind and gentle, but powerful and restrained. I accepted it. _I think I understand now._

Turning back at Steven, I tried to give him the most honest answer I could, "I have absolutely no idea, but... it doesn't matter, right? I'm here, and I'm ok." I tried to think of the positives. "I'm here... with, Steven, Pearl, Garnet, and... Amethyst! And we're ok!" I looked off into the waters.

Steven chuckled, and grabbed my hand. "Just be true to yourself, and... we'll find a way together!" He proudly put his hands on his hips with me.

Garnet put her hand on my shoulder for a friendly gesture, but didn't say anything. Her face, at about the same level as mine, was warm and filled with true compassion.

Amethyst came around in front of me, and looked me over. "So, new guy huh?" She eyed my Gems. "...two." I cocked an eyebrow.

Before I could ask why she was giving me a weird look, Pearl interjected our moment. "Wait! How did that monster freeze up?!"

I crossed my arms as Garnet let go of my shoulder to go investigate the large rock-looking Gem. "Well, let's see. Me and Steven got up to the Gem, and I was able to grab hold of it. Then it sort of just...froze?"

"Froze..." Pearl pondered, but only for a moment. "Well, anyway... You both did great." She beamed.

Steven beamed back at her. We all stared at the ocean for a moment with Steven. It seemed so peaceful and so beautiful. The sun just starting to get ready for sunset; we stood together in peace. Our eyes scanning the horizon before feeling a slight tremor.

"What was that?" I asked everyone.

They all replied at once, "Malachite."

"Oh." I looked at the ocean again before realizing how weird of an answer that was. "Wait, what?"

End of Chapter 1.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: One Night at Steven's

The day ended with us figuring out where I was going to stay as it seemed I was going to be here for a while. Well, more of me figuring out where I was going to stay; with Garnet and Pearl going back into the Temple to make room for the large Gem outside.

I pulled my feet up on the couch just below where Steven's bed was. Steven sat next to me while he seemed to be talking to someone on a communication's device in his hand, but without speaking. His thumbs raced over what seemed to be a translucent touch pad of sorts.

"So, the other Gems go into the Temple to rest or something?"

Steven finished what he was doing on the device and looked up at me casually, "Well, it's more like they go in their to get some privacy. They all have their own rooms in there-" Just then, Amethyst pushed up against me with a hard arm.

She interjected, "My room's the best, of course! It's got all the coolest stuff!" Her eyes lit up as she grinned at me before taking a bite into what looked like a stuffed sandwich. "And yeah, we just kinda hang out really. Gems don't sleep."

"What about Steven?"

"Oh he's half-Gem."

"...And haaalf...?"

"Human." She looked at me as if I couldn't get a clue before taking another bite.

I looked at Steven for a moment as he continued to fiddle with his hand-held device. He seemed a bit different from the other Gems, albeit more fragile looking, but more determined and earthly. _Of course, something always seemed different about him, but I would have never guessed he was part human. These Gems all look like his kind of people, save for the differentiating skin colors. ...Even my skin is a little off from Steven's. It's a really pale blue/green. Even my own gems seem to reflect this coloration._

I looked down at my Gems again, wondering what secrets they may have been hiding. The way the light from the room glossed over them seemed so natural and beautiful. They were perfect in a way, as if crafted by a master in Gem making they seemed a perfect fit for me. I clenched my fist.

"What do I want...?" I muttered under my breath.

Steven put away his device and looked up at me. "Are you ok?"

"I'm sorry..." I looked back at him, "I know I just met you, but... I feel like I've known you forever. Like, we've been best friends or something." My expression was sincere.

"Mmm..." He kicked his feet around for a moment off the couch, "Maybe you knew my mom or something. Gems I had been meeting... Everyone here, Jasper... They knew my mom somehow."

Amethyst finally looked over at us, and away from her food. "Hey, yeah! Maybe he knew Rose at some point!"

I gave them both a strange expression, "But what does that have to do with Steven? He doesn't look like her or something...right?"

Steven smiled, "I _am_ my mom!"

I blinked at him before uttering a word, "...What."

"His mom gave up her physical form to create Steven. Like, his Gem is actually her Gem, but he's his own man." She pulled up Steven's shirt to reveal what looked like a pink Gem with a pentagonal cut to it, and then she poked it. "Hey! Rose! Are ya in there? Hahaha... eugh." The now estranged girl looked away as if she was embarrassed by something.

I thought to myself for a moment, _Rose? Do I know a Rose...?_ My thoughts racing to find someone named Rose, but only coming up with vague memories. Memories of a time that's long past, of a woman in white, and her smile as warm as the sun. Almost like a dream, it seemed the memory was stuck in a state that could not be played back, but rather an image. A still, lifeless image that gave less information than previously entered upon viewing.

"Did she wear white? I'm grasping at straws here."

"Her picture is right above the door over there, if you want to see what she looked like." Steven pointed towards said door.

Just as he said, the picture was right there in full view. It seemed to be a caricature of her in paint. She seemed to be sitting, her eyes closed, and her mouth had a hint of a smile. She seemed enigmatic in that state, as if she knew all and needed nothing. Her pink hair was strikingly curly and long, and seemed to be full of bounce and life. She was round but rightfully so it seemed. Having all the right curves in the right places, she was glad to be who she was, and glad to meet whoever she met. She wore what looked to be a white flowing dress with a star cut around her gem. Her beauty was without equal.

"She's beautiful." My eyes twinkled with delight.

The lighting in the room was a warm orange as darkness fell outside to make way for twinkling stars. I got up to get a closer look at the portrait. I gazed up above the doorway, and really took in the absolute work of art the portrait was, and how well it was kept despite it looking kind of dated.

"Rose..." I closed my eyes, before I felt someone forcefully bump my arm.

I turned around to see Amethyst smiling at me, "C'mon, let's go outside! I wanna see those swords of yours." Her eyes twinkled as she looked down at my Gems.

I gave her a small nervous smile, "A-Alright. It's kinda dark out though."

"Ahhh, the moon's enough light." She pushed me towards the door.

Before Steven could even ask to come with us however, Garnet had come back into the room from the temple to ask him something. He couldn't say no, so he begrudgingly went to Garnet on her orders.

…

The air was crisp with the ocean water as we stood on the beach in front of Steven's home. The moon was surprisingly bright and we were able to see just fine because of it. Not necessarily super bright, but just enough light that we could make out pretty much anything.

I put out my arms and focused on revealing the blades once more. My hands ready to grip them at any moment. "Alright..." I said taking a small breath.

As if on cue, they were pulled into existence from the small blue light given from my Gems. The swords themselves were what appeared to be blue in color, but with dark green etchings in them that seem to follow all the way up the blades. The handles were guarded as the blade itself seemed to come out from the handle.

"Why did you want to see them again?"

She gawked at the sight of them, "Woah, dude. These are wicked. Can you do anything else with them?"

"...huh?"

"Well, you're a fusion, so you could probably make'em bigger or combine them or something." She seemed overly excited.

I blinked at her once more, "...huh? I'm not a fusion?" I pulled back on my blades, and they dissipated into a white light before disappearing completely.

She gave me a weird look before realizing something, "Oh, maybe you're like Garnet where you just stay Fused all the time then."

_What does she mean I'm a fusion...?_

I started to sweat, "I-I don't think I'm a fusion. Is there anyway to tell?"

"Dude. You have TWO Gems. Normal Gems only have one. Like Pearl and me." She eyed my Gems.

I closed my eyes and thought about everything for a moment. My thoughts like open doors revealed more queries of questions that I wanted answered. Knowing that fusion meant that two or more things being combined, I tried to find anything in my body that _wasn't _me. Anything that wasn't what I am currently feeling; maybe something that was foreign and had its' own life.

No amount of thought could grasp an answer I so wanted, "...I don't know, Amethyst."

"Ugh. Whatever." She crossed her arms. "I'm sure _Pearl_ or _Garnet_ will figure it out." Sighing, she looked at the ground.

My eyes looked at her sincerely when I tried to speak, but to be interrupted by a familiar voice, "You have to trust yourself, Amethyst." Strangely, I felt the need to speak the phrase I heard. It felt natural feeling this way, for some reason. Almost like I was asking someone for advice as to what I should say next, I smiled.

Finally, I spoke, "Amethyst. If you can trust yourself first, then... you will find the answers you seek."

She smiled, and looked at me coyly, "Woah, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" before giving me a friendly punch on the shoulder. I could see it in her face that she really appreciated my sentiments, but didn't want to verbally tell me.

Looking at my hands, I felt whole. As though a part of me was sleeping, I could feel this other part of me meld into my being, and bring in a new feeling. This emotion, this feeling, was comforting. The warm hold was bound to me as my mind started to file out more and more space for more and more information. I knew it would be a while before I could finally remember what had happened to me, but if this sensation I'm experiencing is any indication, I'm getting closer to the truth.

"I think I found my other Gem." I smiled whole heartily.

_You can hear me, right? We're... together._ I thought, trying to reach out to my other half.

It was then, I heard someone else, _**Yes. I'm sorry, I was resting. I didn't mean to make you worry, Aquamarine.**_ It's voice was familiar and homely. _That's... Me? I thought I was Azurite._

"We're Azurite, together." I spoke aloud with a firm tone. Amethyst was taken aback by the sudden outburst, and her slight worry turning to curiosity and investigation.

_**Rose is gone, yes?**_ The voice spoke to its mutual half. _Well, kind of. Did you see what happened right after we woke up? __**Mm, it's a bit fuzzy, but I think you were trying to remember something about Rose. **__I feel like we've met her, but... my memories have faded for some reason. Do you remember? __**I can remember up to a point. Please, trust me that... she wanted the best for everyone involved in that war. We had to leave because we were to be executed.**_

Suddenly, I heard Amethyst gasp as she gazed upon my face. I had my arms crossed in deep thought for the moment, but didn't notice the change that occurred. My face felt slightly different.

_Executed?!_ Aquamarine's voice seemed to power over their shared space. _What do you mean?! What did we do?!_ _**Calm down. We were going to help Rose protect this planet, especially after all that she did for us. But, just before the big battle, we realized... something. There was something wrong, but I can't remember.**_

The voice seemed regretful almost when talking about protecting the planet. A gray area was brought into play as the voice seemed to weigh the pros and cons of their decisions. _Why should I even trust you? I don't even know who you are! __**But...!**_ There was a small pause as if the two halves were trying to read each others thoughts.

Outwardly, my eyes closed, and seemed to be sucked in deep frustrated thought with each passing moment. My teeth clenched tighter and tighter as the seconds ticked by.

"Uhh, Ash. You've got uh... extra eyes-" Her gestures indicated that this extra set of eyes were where my eyebrows should be, but quickly she noticed how frustrated I appeared. "Aaaaand you're pulling a Garnet." She sighed, "Look, I know you're probably going through something right now, but if you just stay calm, you won't defu-"

It was then that the front door to Steven's home burst open to reveal the missing three Gems. The sudden sound broke my concentration causing a breakdown in my entire being. As though a knife had been brought down onto my head, I could feel myself splitting into my original forms. My arms and legs retreating into what looked like a glowing blob of light, Azurite was no more, and its' two halves were separated once more.

"-se." Amethyst finished her sentence as the other Crystal Gems came down from the balcony to see the result of the diffusion. "Welp." Her mouth scrunch in distaste for the situation.

There, in the sand, lay two unique Gems separated from their long standing fusion. Their eyes slowly opened to the moonlight and to curious eyes.

The gem slowly stood up. His light blue eyes glistened from the calm moon swept ocean. His hair a white- blue coloration that seemed to sweep up and to the back of his head while coming down and curling upwards slightly from the back. He wears a dark blue tshirt with a black vest over it - which has fur lined on the inside- which also is buttoned by one black button. For his lower...area, he wears skin tight light blue pants with basic blue shoes. Around his waist he wears a loose black belt with a star shaped buckle that usually lays over the top of one of his legs-since it's loose! His gem is located on the top side of his left wrist- not the palm side, but the other side.

The other gem began to stir as well. His dark blue hair was striking to his ocean blue eyes. The hair is longer, but is shaved on the right side (which reveals a small black star-shaped earring). The hair starts out smooth from the right edge, and flows to the left side and down to make small curls. His bangs are longish as they curve up from his eyebrows to swipe to the left. On his torso, he wears a blue undershirt with a collared jacket that creates a V shape starting from his chest up to his neck. His jacket does not have a sleeve on his right arm (the jacket has a long sleeve for the left arm however), but rather a translucent fabric that seems to hang down from his arm which reveals his gem.

"...Thought so." Garnet's voice aired as she crossed her arms in agreement with herself, although she wasn't particularly happy with the unfusion. "Amethyst, did something happen?"

Amethyst looked up at Garnet with a worried look, "He...he grew an extra set of eyes, and then he just split!" She was just as surprised as Steven, but not as excited.

"U-ugh..." The lighter haired gem held his head in slight agony. "...we _were_ fused." Steven held his free hand as if to comfort him somewhat.

The other gem looked over at Pearl, and said, "So, Rose is really gone, huh?" He dusted off some of the sand that lingered on his body.

Pearl, slowly recognizing the gem, squinted her eyes for a moment before replying with inquiry, "Blue...Topaz?" She quickly went over to the lost gem, and held his hand. "Topaz... Rose said you escaped to Homeworld before the war...!" Her eyes seemed happy but she couldn't help but feel something more- something regretful. "Don't tell me they found you-"

"No. Well... I don't know." He looks back over at the other gem, "Me and Aquamarine were fused, and we got to the homeworld warp here... but I don't remember anything after that." He appeared as though he was straining to remember something that simply wasn't there.

"At least you remember stuff. I literally don't remember anything. Only small bits and pieces of imagery." Aqua crouched down, and sat in the soft moonlit sand. Steven looked at him with a reflective expression. The gem turned towards Steven, "I still... feel like I know you, Steven. Whether it be Rose or otherwise is not known."

Steven sighed, "Now... we have two more gem pals!" He smiled before continuing, "...Can I get some rest now?" He put a hand behind his head.

"We'll...Pick this up back at the Temple, ok you two?" Pearl's request did not go on deaf ears. The two gems nodded.

_It's not like I have anywhere to go._ Aquamarine thought to himself as they walked back up the small sandy cliff.

_**We'll get this straightened out, I know we will. ...Aqua, I really hope you remember me soon.**_ The other gem lamented as he looked longingly at his lost companion.


End file.
